Nintendo: 3DS is not for kids

Nintendo issues warning to parents that young children shouldn't play 3-D games.

Gamers of all ages are eagerly anticipating Nintendo's new game device, the Nintendo 3DS, due for release in Japan next month. But according to the company, this latest gaming device is not for appropriate for kids.

At a recent promotional event in Tokyo, the Japanese company said that children 6 years old and younger shouldn't play 3-D games on the coming Nintendo 3DS hand-held game machine. The company said looking at 3-D images for a long period of time could negatively affect the eyesight development of young children.

The new 3-D console is expected to be among the first mainstream products to deliver 3-D images to home entertainment systems without requiring viewers to wear specialized glasses.

It's not really clear why Nintendo issued the warning, because there is no medical evidence to date that staring at 3-D images could harm a child's eyesight. But that's probably just because the issue is so new that it has yet to be studied.